Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-03-19
VISIT TO CANTON.
VIEWS FROM THE STEAMER ON
THE PEARL RIVER.
Pleasing Tropical Luxuriance = A
Buddhist Temple-Trayeling in
Chairs-The Streets-Etc.
Especial REcoRD-UYoN Correspondence
oANroN Fehruerv 1887

CANTON, February 2, 1887.
The wind had not the least suggestion of
the tropics in it when our steamer, the Ho
Nam, left her dock at Hongkong early this
morning. Just year ago, and on just
such a cold morning, was steaming up
the river to Canton. There are no changes
noticeable, for the Pearl river is very con-
servative, and the jewellers on its banks are
un-American.
The mountains and rocky islands have
| fantastic forms, which give occasion for
many names chosen from their imagined
resemblances to various objects of nature
The Bocca Tigris and the gray forts are
passed the river banks are low, and would
be uninteresting were it not for the fact
that they are in China, and the sight of
them brings to mind so much of romance
and adventure, that they become full of
fascination.
| BANANAS GROW EVERYWHERE,
Being planted as borders to the plats of
cultivated land or where there is a path
way. The country seems far from crowded
| indeed, the hills are quite desolate, and
scarcely hut is to be seen. Chinese cities
populated.
Whampoa is reached about l o'clock,
and its two picturesque pagodas have been
showing themselves prominently in the
| landscape for some time, giving most
satisfactory Oriental tone. Whampoa is
now but q small village, though it was
| formerly the port where all foreign ships
had to land British Consul is here now,
as it is still port, and some vessels make
use of it. The first pagoda stands 100
feet high, and from it is seen growing
good-sized tree, which has been there for
great many years. This tower was built in
| 1898, and the other, known as the First
| Bar Pagoda, was built in 1921. These are
| considered to be quite modern affairs by
| the people, who trace their history back
beyond the time of our Edenic pair. The
famous barriers are near here which the
Chinese sunk in the river to prevent the
| French coming up. They refuse to move
them now because the expense of putting
them down was so great They compel US
to leave our steamer and take a launch for
quite a distance, as the river is too shallow,
except at high tide for the Ho Nam to
come up to the Canton wharf. This
steamer is a river boat of American style,
and is armed to the teeth, and has a guard
stationed at each hatchway which leads to
the lower deck, where the common Chi
nese are Kept.
THE CITY OF CANTON,
As seen from the river, has the appearance
of European city given it by the Gothic
towers of the cathedral, which can be seen
at quite a distance. Landing on the
Shameen, the foreign concession, one is
charmed with its beauty, an ideal spot
where the streets become green lawns and
each home stands in the midst of flowers.
Enormous banyan and camphor trees give
shade, and were it not for the ever present
gunboat, either American or British, which
is always ready, one would take this for the
home Of peace and utmost security. The
! luins of some of the fourteen houses
! which were destroyed by the mob in 1888
are still visible. Ruins of the Chinese
! buildings destroyed in California have
hardly trace left after a week has passed
The Shameen is about :, 900 feet long by
600 wide, and bordered by a stone en-
baDkment which cost over $500, 900. The
inhabitants 1--we their little cage, and one
can hardly wonder, though the only
European neighbor is Hongkong, ninety
miles away. With my guide, Mack, |
crossed the river by boat to the Honam
suburbs to visit the large
BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND MONASTERY.
Eight acres are in garden and under care
happy time of it among so many charm
ing walks. Service was being chanted |
when l arrived by many priests in yellow
robes. The voices, the occasional tinkle OF
a bell and the arrangement of the affairs !
excepting of course the Asiatic atmosphere |
which was ever present, reminded me |
forcibly OF the beautiful yesper services in |
our own Roman Catholic churches. The |
incense, the snbdued light of the interior, |
the symbols, only few of which though |
were Ineligible to me, were well calcu- |
lated to produce upon the crowd an effect |
desirable in a religious assembly. In these |
gardens are the crematories Tor the bodies |
of priests and the large tombs in which the
ashes are deposited.
One sees here to best advantage those |
oddly-grown trees which are made to take |
the forms of men and beasts. There is
something distressing 10 me in these |
plants, and especially when they are fin
ished with porcelain eyes. 1t is deemed of
great value, in the after life by Buddhists
to save life, and the easiest way to &C
complish this is by giving some creature
usually white pig or chicken-to the |
monastery, where they are fed and kept |
till they die natural death. The preva-
lence of this custom accounts for the
great number of the sacred animals $50
called) seen about the temples.
BEGGARs FOLLOWED ME
About everywhere, and among them dis
tributed my visiting cards, which seemed
to please them even more than money.
The Chinese have superstiuous reverence
for printed paper, and, like all humanity
have special regard for what is ineom-
prehensible. A wealthy and old family
Ng 4 hope n. G. does not mean no good)
by name has pleasant house and grounds
near this temple, where Honqua, who con-
tributed such enormous sums of money |
toward the carrying on of the war with
France, lives in great style. | had seen
him before, and strolled through his beau
tilful gardens, with little lattice houses and
lotus ponds, and the high arch
ing bridges, such as we see on
old blue and white tea sets; but
the lotus are dead, and the ponds dry
and the whole place in winter attire. The
cold does not, however affect Honqua,
and he gave me most cordial greeting in |
European manner, and then lapsed into
the delightfully."- barbarian custom of
treating me to tea and sweets. I wish |
coolie-ridden America could become famil-
lar with Chinese gentlemen and wish the
returning coolies could tell their home
friends Of American gentlemen, but hood
lum on one side and coolie on the other
are the types best known. No people in
the world could show a finer looking man
than China can in Lee Hung Chung,
Viceroy of Chill Province, and withal he
is statesman of great power, and a |
knowledge of foreign countries as well as
his own quite equal to any of our men at
Washington.
CHAIR coNvEYAEcEs AND COOLIES.